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Author Stephanie Meyer is hoping her vampire fans will be willing to step into a new world and embrace aliens as the first film of her new book series, The Host, hits the big screens.

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Fans of the successful Twilight Saga box office franchise have been eagerly anticipating
Meyer’s next offering on the big screen with “The Host” out in US theatres on
March 29.

But Meyer, speaking at the film’s red
carpet premiere in Los Angeles,
said the new film may not be what fans of the popular vampire series expect
from her.

“If (fans) go into it wanting a repeat of Twilight they probably will not be
thrilled, because it is not. It is a very different kind of story,” Meyer told
Reuters TV.

“I think if they are willing to go on a new
ride with me and try out something a little different than I think they will
really like it.”

The five Twilight films, based on Meyer’s best-selling novels, focus on a
love story between a vampire and a human and grossed more than $3.3 billion
at the global box office, according to movie sales tracking website
BoxOfficeMojo.com.

The films, which attracted a devoted
teenage following, launched lead stars Kristen Stewart, Robert Pattinson and
Taylor Lautner into A-list fame.

The
Host, adapted from Meyer’s novel of the same name,
explores a post-apocalyptic world where alien beings called Souls invade Earth
and take over human bodies and minds, causing conflicting emotions between the
two beings in the same body.

Meyer has already said that she has plots
in mind for follow-on books and hoped this would become a trilogy, which would
open the way for sequel films.

In The
Host, Irish-American actress Saoirse Ronan, 18, plays human Melanie Stryder
who is taken over by a Soul called Wanda.

Ronan, who starred in The Lovely Bones and was nominated for a Best Supporting Actress
Oscars for Atonement, said she
enjoyed the challenge of switching between two personalities.

“I really enjoyed playing Melanie because
the majority of the film I am playing Wanda, who is quite a pure, serene and
understanding character,” said Ronan on the red carpet.

He said the film’s complex story touched
many different genres, appealing to more than just Twilight fans.

“It is a science fiction movie at heart, it
is a story of human survival. Yes, it has the romance, but I think it has a lot
more for a lot of different people,” said Irons.

Diane Kruger, Jake Abel and William Hurt
also star in The Host, directed by
Andrew Niccol. The film is distributed in the United States by Open Road Films, a
joint venture between theatre owners Regal Entertainment Group and AMC
Entertainment.